To Dye For

A little while ago I blogged about fabric waste. And a VERY EXCITING comment was left..

We are a Midlands based knitting and dyeing company.

We have 1000s of kilograms of greige fabric we want someone to put into a good use. It’s free all you have to do is collect .

Fabric is spun poly viscose etc.

Can you IMAGINE the excitement?!

Now griege means that this is an undyed fabric - a beigey creamy ecru colour. It might not even be on rolls. Jersey is often knitted on whacking great machines like this so it comes out like massive tubes (can you work out what a sock knitting machine looks like?)

We're lookinginto getting it dyed and if we did we'd likely just trial this in black and see what we could do with it.

We REALLY want to take this jersey but for it to be useful for us we need to know would you be comfortable wearing it?

The company are unable to specify exactly what they have as it's their waste - just like us, they collect their waste but they're not going to spend time (and therefore money) sorting it and grading it. All we know is that it's UK knitted spun poly viscose type blends.

How would that be - for pants? vests tops? Night shorts? Anything? Nothing?

    PLEASE do tell us in the comments if you'd be happy - or unhappy - to wear it. There's no point us doing this if it's not what you want!

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    Comment on this post (16 comments)

    • Dot says...

      “

      late to the party, but if people think its too sweaty for close fitting underwear there is nothing stopping you from making french knickers or other nightwear. i personally love the way viscose drapes.

      Also i have to admit im particularly fond of the ‘undyed’ griege colour and i think if you can get away with not dyeing it you should leave it. synthetic fabric is a bugger to dye.

      July 27, 2015

    • Kathy says...

      “

      Sounds good, especially like the idea of vests, possibly also shorts as a set?

      What about pyjamas?

      July 24, 2015

    • Pippa says...

      “

      More sleep shorts please (just not in pink, dye it anything but pink or don’t dye it!?)

      July 23, 2015

    • Sara says...

      “

      Yes! … it’s true recycling and the main environmental impact has already happened much better to use waste for something useful …. vest tops in colours to co-ordinate with your wonderful pants would be top of my list - I live in them - night shorts as well

      July 23, 2015

    • Heather says...

      “

      Do it! Like Samantha says, does it all need to be dyed? You’ve an international market so autumn/winter here is summer & summer colours elsewhere. Plus folks will still wear pale colours here. The shorts are great - more? Man-pants? Weight would be a consideration too.
      Again, like Samantha says we trust you to consider environmental implications. Depending on quantity and dye process you could have shorts/etc in pink or anything!
      Enjoy!

      July 23, 2015

    • Paula says...

      “

      Sounds too good to miss, can they send you a sample before you commit? I think black would be great to start. If you need testrrs I would be happy to oblige to test the comfort of the fabric ??

      July 22, 2015

    • Nix says...

      “

      There are Ethical dyes too. http://www.ecofashionworld.com/EcoFashion-Pulse/Color-Me-Natural.html - I know the article is old but it has good information still. There are vegan dyes, natural dyes, organic but not vegan dyes. allsorts.

      Greige definitely needs a bit of sprucing. I love the idea of WMYP Nightwear.

      July 22, 2015

    • Sue Krekorian says...

      “

      I much prefer natural fibres for breathability, but viscose is OK. Many polyester fabrics I find too sweaty to wear. I’d be a great tester for this fabric, greige or black. Couldn’t the originating company dye it for you?. Keep up the great pants XXX

      July 22, 2015

    • Lesley says...

      “

      Absolutely! As Samantha mentioned above, I know there are still other factors you will be considering around dyeing, etc. but to answer the root question— yes, I would definitely wear pants made from this material.

      July 22, 2015

    • Harriet says...

      “

      I agree with Samantha (first comment) - yes and yes! There might well be a market for ethically produced unbleached nightwear and undies, so that could be a good starting point…does it really need dyeing?

      July 22, 2015

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